


Happy Birthday, Dusty

by ShadowKitt



Category: Cars (Pixar Movies)
Genre: Cad Skipper and Cabbie are mentioned, Dusty's birthday, M/M, New Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27726142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowKitt/pseuds/ShadowKitt
Summary: Blade doesn't know what to get Dusty for his birthday but after a suggestion from Maru, Blade gives him the best gift ever.
Relationships: Dusty Crophopper/Blade Ranger
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Happy Birthday, Dusty

Maru was doing his usual equipment checks when he happened to drive by Blade’s hangar. Now, usually, Blade would keep his hangar doors closed but for some reason, they were opened this time and the AgustaWestland seemed to have a contemplative look on his face. Deciding to go in, Maru drove up to his best friend, who at the moment, didn’t see the mechanic come in.

Maru wanted to dump some ice water on the heli but decided that he wanted to live so he tapped Blade on the nose. Feeling something cold touching him, Blade shook himself and blinked a couple of times and saw that Maru was looking at him with some concern. 

“You ok, Blade?”

Nodding, Blade backed up a couple of feet so that he could look at Maru normally and not cross-eyed.

“Thank you for your concern, Maru. I’m fine. I was just thinking of what to get Dusty for his birthday, since it’s coming up in a few days. And it’ll be the first one he’ll have here with us. I’m just out of ideas.”

Maru ‘hmm’ed and with a smile on his face, whispered an idea to Blade. Then the AgustaWestland smiled back, “That one sounds good. Thank you for your help, Maru. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Chief. Let me know what else you need and I’ll try and see what I can do.”

“Will do.”

The big day finally arrived and everyone was excited but Cabbie had to calm down the Jumpers since they were getting really hyped. But there was a problem: what to do with Dusty so they could get set up? Blade had an idea.

Blade rolled towards Dusty’s hangar and when he got close, he heard Dusty’s voice as well as Skipper’s. 

‘He’s on the radio. I’ll wait til he’s done.’

A few minutes later, Dusty rolled outside and saw Blade. The heli greeted the air tractor with a smile that seemed to be reserved only for Dusty and no one else. Dusty smiled back and Blade seemed mesmerized by the small plane’s smile.

‘Man, his smile is beautiful, almost as beautiful as his eyes’

Realizing that he was looking at Dusty a little too long, Blade cleared his throat and asked, “If you’re not busy, would you like to go on a flight, Dusty?”   
“Sure, Blade, I’d love to.”

“Ok, go ahead and get in the air. I’ll be up in a minute.”

So as Dusty started his engine and rolled down the runway, Blade went over to Maru, told him a few things and started up his rotors so he could meet up with Dusty. When Blade got within a few feet of the air tractor, Dusty clicked on his radio, “Is everything ok, Blade? Did I do something wrong?”

“I’m ok, Champ and no, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve just been trying to figure out something that’s all.”

“Is it the budget? If it is, I’ll help out as much as I can.”

Blade’s mind hadn’t been on the budget and he had told Dusty before that since he was only there part time, he didn’t need to contribute anything, just his helping with the park and fighting the fires was enough.

“Dusty, I’ve told you before, you don’t need to worry about the budget. And since Cad isn’t Park Superintendent anymore, it should be getting back to normal soon but thank you, Champ.”

Dusty smiled and was about to say something when Maru’s voice came over Blade’s radio: “Blade, we have a situation at Base. You need to return asap.”

“Copy that.”

Sighing, Blade easily spun around and faced Dusty, his eyes locked with the air tractor’s. That was Blade’s cue for him to get back to Base so he could get the party ready without fear of Dusty finding out too soon. 

Giving the small plane an apologetic look, the heli explained, “I gotta get back, Dust. Something tells me that the Jumpers did something that I’m not gonna like. Remember the soap incident?”

Chuckling, Dusty said, “Oh yeah. I think it was a few days before everyone stopped spitting out bubbles, that was kinda funny though.”

“Uh huh. Could you do me a favor, please? Would you mind doing a quick patrol?”

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind. I’ll call in if I see something, promise.”

“Thank you, Dusty. Be safe.”

“You too, Blade”

With that, both aircraft went their separate ways. On his way back to Base, Blade thought, ‘I hope we have enough time.’

Half an hour later, Dusty came back to Base. Maru greeted him as the small plane was taxiing down the runway and came to a slow stop.

“Hey kid. How’s it going?”

Dusty smiled, “Not bad. Took care of a small spot fire before it got too big. Oh, by the way, there’s something I need to tell everyone.”

As he looked around, the Base looked empty save for him and Maru. As his gaze went back to the mechanic, Dusty asked, “Where is everybody?”

“There was a call about an abandoned campfire a few minutes ago. I’m surprised you didn’t see the team. Oh, by the way, Blade said he has something for you. Have you ever played ‘Follow the String’?”

A questioning look crossed Dusty’s face as he answered, “No. What’s that?”

Smiling, Maru explained, “You follow a piece of string all over until you find the end.”

“What’s at the end of the string?”

Driving a bit closer to the air tractor, Maru ‘booped’ Dusty’s nose, “That’s the surprise and I know you’re gonna like it.”

Nodding, Dusty allowed Maru to show him where the beginning of the string was and the two started to slowly follow it. As they did, the rest of the firefighters came out of hiding and set to work.

After a few minutes, Dusty and Maru finally got to the end of the string that led to Dusty’s hangar. So as Maru pushed the doors open, there was a huge box in the middle of the building. Dusty moved closer and saw that there was writing on the side: To Dusty From Blade. Happy Birthday, Champ!

Trying to figure out what the heck Blade got him that was so big, Maru helped him by cutting through the tape. After the tape was cut, Dusty pushed his nose into the box to get the flaps out of the way. He gasped and backed up. Inside the huge package was Blade! Before the small plane could say anything, Blade beat him to it: “Happy Birthday, Dusty, I didn’t know what to get you so I got you me. And there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long, I-”

Before he could say anything more, he was silenced by a pair of soft lips. As the AgustaWestland’s eyes fluttered closed, his core was beating so fast, it felt like it wanted to escape.

As Dusty broke the kiss and their eyes opened, both were a bit breathless as Dusty whispered, “I feel the same way, Blade.”

With that he gave Blade a quick peck on the cheek and he heard an unmistakable purr coming from the heli. 

“Thank you, Blade.”

“You’re very welcome, Dusty, now let’s enjoy your party.”

“Party?”

Turning around, Blade rolled towards the center of the Air Attack Base with Dusty right next to him. At first, the main area was dark but then all of a sudden there was a flash of light, which blinded him but after the flash died down, Dusty couldn’t believe his eyes. 

There, in the middle of the base, was a table that held a really big two layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. As Maru came closer to light the candles, everyone started to gather around the table. 

After singing their own rendition of the birthday song, Dusty made a wish and blew out the candles. But before he could even slice the cake, Drip (who had other plans) made it look like he was helping the birthday plane out by picking up the cake a bit but decided to throw it at his teammates! 

Everyone started wiping the cake off of themselves and started throwing it at each other while Dusty just stood there in a daze. After a few minutes, everyone started calming down and Maru disappeared for a few minutes and came back with another cake.

Even though Dusty didn’t participate in the food fight, he still had some frosting land on him. Blade couldn’t resist as he rolled over to his new boyfriend and licked the frosting off of the small plane’s nose. Shaking himself out of his trance, turquoise blues focused on ice blues and Dusty smiled. 

Maru drove over to Dusty, “Hey kid, just wanted to tell ya that the first cake was supposed to be thrown at you but for some reason, Drip decided to throw it at the Jumpers. But we always make another cake.”

As Maru lit the candles again, Blade snuggled up next to Dusty and whispered, “You should’ve seen what they did when it was my birthday, Champ. I couldn’t get the chocolate cake out of my intakes for almost a week.”

“Really? Dang, that was bad. When was your birthday, Blade?”

“About 4 weeks ago. You were racing-”

As soon as the word ‘racing’ came out of Blade’s mouth, Dusty stilled. ‘That’s right, I need to tell them.’

“Guys, I’m not sure if you saw the race and heard my announcement but that was my last one.”

At first there was quiet then all of a sudden everyone started talking one at a time before Blade shushed them. Turning towards Dusty, the AgustaWestland asked, “What do you mean that was your last race, Dusty?”

“Meaning I’m not racing anymore. I was thinking about applying here full time, if that’s ok, Blade?”

“Of course that’s fine Dusty. We’re more than happy to have you.”

With it getting late, the firefighters finished up the party as well as cleaning the cake from themselves, but leaving the decorations up til the next morning.

When it was time for bed, Blade decided that he wanted to share his hangar with his boyfriend so as he was going to go get Dusty, said plane was actually coming over to him. 

With a smile and a bow, Blade gestured towards his hangar and rolled back a bit to allow the air tractor inside. Blade followed behind as he closed the doors and guided Dusty to the sleeping mat. 

As they settled down and snuggled against the other, both sighed happily. Blade turned a bit to kiss Dusty’s cheek, “Happy Birthday, Dusty. I love you.”

Returning the kiss, Dusty smiled, “Thank you Blade, I love you too. I wasn’t really expecting you to give yourself to me as a gift though.”

“Well, I didn’t know what to get you so Maru suggested a few things but that one stood out and it was unique so I did it. Let’s get some sleep, Dust. We both know you had a very long day. Goodnight, sweetcore.”

“Goodnight, love.”

With that, both aircraft fell asleep, dreaming of their new relationship and their future together.

**Author's Note:**

> My family always does the 'Follow the String' for birthdays. The part where Drip throws the cake at the Jumpers came to me later.


End file.
